Ultrasound-induced capping of polystyrene on TiO2 nanoparticles by precipitation with compressed CO2 as antisolvent

In this work, a route for the synthesis of inorganic/polymer core/shell composite nanoparticles was proposed, which can be called the antisolvent-ultrasound method. Compressed CO2 was used as antisolvent to precipitate the polymer from its solution dispersed with inorganic nanoparticles, during which ultrasonic irradiation was used to induce the coating of precipitated polymers on the surfaces of the inorganic nanoparticles. TiO2/Polystyrene (PS) core/shell nanocomposites have been successfully prepared using this method. The transmission electronic micrographs (TEM) of the obtained nanocomposites show that the TiO2 nanoparticles are coated by the PS shells, of which the thickness can be tuned by the pressure of CO2. The phase structure, absorption properties, and thermal stability of the composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectra, and thermogravimetry, respectively. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) indicate the formation of a strong interaction between PS and TiO2 nanoparticles in the resultant products. This method has some potential advantages for applications and may be easily applied to the preparation of a range of inorganic/polymer core/shell composite nanoparticles.